Fuente: PubMed "industrial biotechnology" PLOS Glob Public Health. 2026 Jan 8;6(1):e0004158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004158. eCollection 2026.ABSTRACTThe routine COVID-19 surveillance in Malawi that relied on retrospective reporting could not efficiently steer timely measures to the rapidly evolving pandemic. To monitor real-time changes in infections and inform the COVID-19 response, we implemented an active sentinel surveillance system from July to December 2022. Symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with SARS-CoV-2 in selected health facilities (HFs) and anyone aged ≥5 years entering at Point of Entry (PoEs) sites were eligible to participate. Self-reported epidemiological and clinical data, and nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from 9,305 participants. A higher overall SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positivity rate was observed at HFs, 8.9% among symptomatic and 6.5% among asymptomatic patients, versus 3.5% at PoEs. The positivity trends among symptomatic and asymptomatic patient groups showed a similar pattern throughout the period. This active surveillance complemented routine surveillance, especially during a low incidence period and highlighted the need to target both symptomatic and asymptomatic populations.PMID:41505427 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pgph.0004158